German Family got Political Asylum for Homeschooling

Do parents have the right to educate their children at home? In the United States, the answer is yes. However, in some other countries such right does not exist. Some countries such as Spain and the Netherlands only allow homeschooling under exceptional circumstances. A Germany family was told by their government that they would lose custody of their five children if they insist on keeping them at home for homeschooling, according to a recent article of the Time magazine. Their reaction: they packed their bags and traveled to the United States to seek protection.

The German family applied for political asylum in the U.S. and an immigration judge in Memphis, Tenn., granted their request based their refusal to send their kids to German school for education. There are two significant things about this decision. First of all, asylum is usually granted for those who escape more severe physical and mental persecution on account of their political opinion, religious belief, race, or some other more prominent social characteristics such as gender or sexual preference. When eligibility for asylum was extended to victims of coercive family planning policies or genital mutilation, it already became very controversial. Here, protection was granted to a family who has not suffered serious physical harm yet. Secondly, asylum seekers don’t usually come from Western European countries. In fact, only a handful of cases originated from Western countries and even fewer are granted every year.

The decision of the case has not been published to the public. However, the grant of asylum is believed to be based on the applicants’ membership in a particular social group, i.e., German families who insist on homeschooling their children. The courts have defined a social group as a group of persons who either (1) share a "common, immutable characteristic" or (2) share a characteristic that is "so fundamental to one's identity or conscience that it ought not be required to be changed." One may argue that the right to decide how and where to educate one’s children is so fundamental that it ought not be taken away. Here, the German parents refused to send their children to school for fear that they would be bullied and also that they would learn things which are against their Christian values. The same curriculum which includes sex education is mandatory in both public and private schools in Germany. The governmental punishment is also severe. In addition to the $10,000 fines which were imposed on them, the parents would also lose custody of their children if they insisted on homeschooling.

Their move is not without price. They had to uproot their family and live in a different country and culture. The father, a concert pianist, had to sell his beloved Steinway piano to help pay for the trip. However, their story may not end here. It is expected that the U.S. government through the Department of Homeland Security will likely appeal this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeal or even the Attorney General. But at least for now, the family may enjoy their freedom of teaching and learning their favorite subjects at home without government intervention.